Replacing ground Rhodes grass hay with soyhulls in the pelleted diet: effects on ingestive behavior, nutrient digestibility, blood metabolites, growth performance, and economic viability of intensive fattening Lohi lambs.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of replacing soyhulls (SH) for ground Rhodes grass hay (RGH) in a pelleted diet on ingestive behavior, digestibility, blood metabolites, growth performance, and economic viability of fattening Lohi lambs. A total of thirty male lambs (age: 5 months; body weight 20.4 ± 0.24 kg) were allotted to one of the three diets (n = 10 lambs/diet) under a completely randomized design. The diets were with 25% RGH inclusion (control), replacing 15% RGH with 15% SH as a fiber source (SH-15), and containing only 25% SH inclusion on a dry basis (SH-25). Ingestive behavior parameters like time spent (min/day), bouts frequency (number/day), and bout length (min/bout) for feeding, drinking, rumination, chewing, standing, and lying were not influenced (P > 0.05) by replacing RGH with SH. The dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) chewing rate, rumination rate, and feeding efficiency were also not changed (P > 0.05) by dietary treatments, whereas total dry matter and NDF intakes, and their rumination efficiencies were lower (P < 0.05) for the SH-25 than for the rest of the treatments. The digestibility of NDF and acid detergent fiber (ADF) was higher (P < 0.05) for the SH-25 than for the rest of the treatments. The concentrations of blood metabolites like glucose, blood nitrogen, and cholesterol were not changed (P > 0.05) among the treatment groups. Similarly, performance parameters like dry matter intake, initial and final body weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio were similar (P > 0.05) across the treatments. However, the incidence of loose fecal consistency was higher (P < 0.05) for SH-25 than for the control. The values of economic efficiency were better for SH-25-fed lambs than those fed the rest of the treatments. Based on the results, substituting SH for RGH in a pelleted diet improved the digestibility of fiber fractions, and economics without affecting the growth performance, and blood metabolites of fattening lambs. However, lower rumination efficiency and loos fecal consistency are evidencing less effectiveness of SH fiber.

Arsenic contamination, induced symptoms, and health risk assessment in groundwater of Lahore, Pakistan.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the arsenic concentration and related health risks in groundwater extracted from tube wells. The physicochemical parameters, including arsenic (As), were investigated using standard procedures. The parameters were found within the permissible limits except for arsenic, which was 78 µg/L. Unfortunately, 82% of the collected water samples were found contaminated with arsenic and exceeded the permissible limit set by the world health organization (10 µg/L). The water intake and its relationship between arsenic concentration, time, and induced symptoms in the study area residents were observed. Skin pigmentation, skin irritation, and numbness of the body were recognized as the major symptoms, and these symptoms were significantly correlated with p-value ˂ 0.05. In comparison, individuals who intake As-contaminated water (> 50 µg/L) for a duration of > 20 years show severe symptoms. Furthermore, health risk assessment associated with arsenic in terms of chronic daily intake (CRI), hazard quotient (HQ), and cancer risk assessment probability (CR) in groundwater was also studied. The HQ of arsenic was 7.46, and the CR value of As on Ravi road was as high as 0.00149, which indicates a possibility of cancer risk in the community Ravi road, Lahore. Based on the findings, the study area needs special monitoring and management of groundwater to reduce health risks associated with contaminated drinking water. Moreover, suitable remediation methods for removing arsenic should be adopted to avoid arsenic exposure and related health risks.

Effects of Subacute Exposure of Dibutyl Phthalate on the Homeostatic Model Assessment, Thyroid Function, and Redox Status in Rats.

Dibutyl phthalate is an endocrine disruptor used in a wide range of industrial and agriculture applications. The present study focuses on elucidating the effect of subacute exposure (4-weeks) of DBP on insulin and its sensitivity indexes, oxidative status, thyroid function, energy metabolites, serum biochemistry, and anthropometry in rats. A total of 64 rats were divided into 4 treatment groups as mg DBP/Kg body weight per day: (a) 0 mg/Kg (control), (b) 10 mg/Kg (DBP-10), (c) 50 mg/Kg (DBP-50), and (d) 100 mg/Kg (DBP-100). The rats in each treatment (n = 16) were further divided into male (n = 8) and female (n = 8) rats for studying treatment and gender interactions. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) was performed on the 21st day. Anthropometry, nutritional determinants, fasting plasma glucose, fasting plasma insulin, homeostatic model assessment (HOMA), thyroid hormones, energy metabolites, and oxidative status were studied during the experimental period. Two-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data (p < 0.05). Tukey's posthoc test was used for pair-wise comparisons. DBP increased body weight gain and feed efficiency in an inverted nonmonotonic U-shaped fashion. Hyperglycemia and increased blood glucose area under the curve were observed in DBP-100 at 120 minutes in IPGTT. The HOMA also showed a linear monotonic contrast. Thyroxin decreased significantly in the DBP-100 rats, whereas malondialdehyde, nonesterified fatty acids, and beta hydroxyl butyrate were increased with the DBP treatments. In conclusion, DBP could be attributed to the development of hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in rats. Further investigations into the lipid peroxidation pathways can improve our understanding of the mechanisms involved in metabolic disruption.